October 22, 2012

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett indicated a decision could be coming soon to shut down safety Matt Johnson, who has seen his rookie season derailed by recurring hamstring injuries since he was selected as a fourth-round pick in April. But no decision has been reached at this point, Garrett stressed, in regard to placing Johnson on the injured reserve list to free up a roster spot for a healthy player.

Johnson was expected to make his debut Sunday at Carolina but injured his left hamstring in Friday’s practice. Johnson missed the first five games because of a right hamstring injury sustained in OTAs and aggravated during a pre-season game against the St. Louis Rams.

“I can’t tell you how well he practiced for two weeks,” Garrett said. “He really practiced well. Everything we’ve seen from him has been so positive, so we were really disappointed when that happened because (injuries have) been a recurring theme for him. He’s one of those guys that’s so conscientious and tried to do the right things the right way with the right treatment and all that. It’s particularly disappointing. We’ve just got to see the next few days, couple weeks and see if he responds well at all because you’re measuring how many weeks are left in the season, how many weeks he’ll be on the shelf and try to make your best guess. You don’t want to waste that roster spot all year long, so at some point there’s going to be a decision we have to make. We don’t think we have to make that decision right now with 10 games to go.”